18 Judith

62 3

1. TH E CAMPAIGN OF HOLOFERNES Nebuchadnezza r an d Ar phaxad G n lO:22

,I 1

'I

it wa s th e twelfth year of Nebuc had nezzar " who reigned over th e Assyr ia ns I in th e g rea t city of N ineve h. Arphaxa d r was then reigning ov er t he Medes at Ecbat an a. • He surrounded this city with walls of d ressed stones three cubits 2 thick an d six c ubits long, ma king t he rampart seventy c u bi ts hig h and fifty cu b its wide . - At the gates he placed towers one hundred cubits high a nd, a t t he, founda ti o ns, sixty cubits wide, -the gates themselves being seventy cubits high 4 a nd forty wide to allow his fo rces to march out in a body and his infantry to pa rade free ly. Now a t this time King Nebuchadnezzar gave battle to King A rp haxad in the 5 gr ea t plain lying in the terr itory of Ragae. · Su ppo r ting him were all the peoples 6 fro m th e highlands," all fro m t he Euphrates and Tigris a nd Hyda spes, a nd tho se fro m th e plai ns wh o we re subj ect to Arioc h, king of the Elymaeans.r Th us ma ny na tions had muste red to ta ke pa rt in t he ba tt le of th e so ns of C heleo ud J N ebu chadnezza r king of the A ssyrian s sent a message to all t he inha bitants 7 of Pers ia, to all th e inh abitants of t he western count ries, C ilicia , Dama scus, Le ba no n, Ant i-Le ba no n, to all those along the coast, · to the peoples of Ca rmel, 8 Gil ea d, Upper Gal ilee, t he great plain of Esdraelon , -to the men o f Samaria an d its o utlying towns , to those beyond J o rda n , as far away as J erusa lem, Bet ha ny, C helo us, K adesh, the river of Egypt, Tahpanhes, R a meses an d the wh ole te rritory of Goshen, • beyond Tanis, too, a nd Memphis, and to all the 10 inh a bita nts of Egypt as far as the frontie rs of Ethiopia. g • But the in ha bita nts I I of these countries ignored the summons of Nebuchadnezzar king of the Assyrians and d id .no t rally to him to make war. They were not afraid of him , since in t heir view he a p pea red iso la ted. " Hence they sent his ambassadors bac k with no t hin g ac hieved and in disgrace. -N ebuchadnezza r was furious with all these coun tr ies .' 12 H e swore by his th rone and kingdom to take revenge o n a ll the te rri tories of C ilicia , D a mascene an d Syri a, of th e Moabites and of the Ammonites, of Judaea a nd Egypt a s far as the lim its of the two seas,' and to ravage them wit h the swo rd .

l

Th e campaign against Ar pha xad

E st 1:3-4

In t he seventeent h year he an d his forces gav e ba ttl e to K ing A rphaxad a nd in t his battle defea ted him. H e ro uted Arphaxa d 's en tire ar my a nd all his ca valry an d chariots; - he occ u pied his towns and advanced on Ec bata na ; he seized its tow e rs a nd plundered its market places , redu cing it s forme r magn ificence to a m ocke ry. · H e later captured A rpha xad in the mountai ns of Ragae a nd, th rust ing him through with his spears, destroyed hi m once a nd fo r all. H e t hen retired wi th his tr oops a nd a ll who had jo ined fo rces wit h him: a va st horde of armed men . T hen , ca refree, he and his arm y ga ve t hemsel ves up to feasti ng for a hundred a nd twenty da ys .

13

14

15

16

2 :21

T he campa ign in the west In t he e ightee nt h year," o n th e twe nty -secon.d da y of t he first month , a rumour ran throug h t he pa lace th a t N ebucha d nezz a r king of t he Assyrians wa s to ha ve h is revenge on the w ho le wo rld, as he ha d t hrea te ned . · Sum mo ning h is ge ne ra l staff a nd se nior office rs he held a sec ret confer ence wi t h t hem, a nd J wit h his ow n lips pro nou nced utte r destructi o n on a ll the se countrie s. · It was t he n decreed t ha t everyo ne sho uld be put to deat h w ho had no t answered the king' s appeal. ., W hen th e counc il was over, Ncbuc hadnezzar ki ng of th e Assyrians sen t for Holo fe rne s," ge neral -in-chief of his a rmies a nd subord inate only to him self. Est 3:13b 5 He sa id to hi m , · "Thus spea ks t he G rea t Ki ng, lord of t he who le wo rl d:' "Be o n yo ur wa y ; ta ke men of prove d valo u r, a bo ut a hund red a nd t wenty t hou sa nd foot so ldiers a nd a st rong co nt inge nt of horse wit h twelve t ho us a nd " cav a lrymen; -t hen adva nce aga inst t he wes te rn lan ds, since t hese peop le ha ve 7 d isregar ded my call. • Bid th em ha ve ea rt h a nd wa te r ready," beca use in my ra ge I a m a bo ut to march on them ; th e fee t of my so ld iers will cove r the who le face of the " ea rt h, and I will plunder it. • T hei r wo und ed will fill t he va lleys and t he torren ts and rive rs, bloc ked w ith t he ir dead , will ove rflow . • j will lead t hem capt ive I II to t he ends of th e eart h. • Now go! Begin by conquering this whole region fo r me. If t hey sur re nder to you, hol d t he m for me unt il t he t ime co mes to punish th em . I I But if t hey resist , loo k o n no o ne with cle me ncy . Han d t hem o ve r to slaug hter 12 a nd plunder through out t he territ or y e nt rusted to you . • For by my life a nd by t he living power o f my kin gd o m, I ha ve spoken. Al l t his I will do indeed . IJ And yo u, neglect no ne of yo ur master's co m ma nds, act st rict ly accord ing to my orders wit hout furt her de lay." , I~ Leav ing the presence of his sove reign , Holofernes im med ia tely summo ned 15 all t he marsha ls, generals a nd officers of the Assyrian army -a nd detailed the pic ked t roops as his master had ordered, about a hundred a nd twe nty t ho usa nd 16 men a nd a fu rther twelve t ho usa nd mounted bo wmen . • He o rga nised these In the I ~ no rma l battle fo rmation . • He th en sec ured va st number s o f ca me ls, donkeys a nd mu les to carry t he baggage, a nd inn um er abl e shee p, oxen and goats for ~~ food suppl ies, • Every man received fu ll rations a nd a ge ne rous sum o f gold a nd silver from t he k ing 's purse. l~ He th en set out for t he ca mpaign with his whole army , in a d vance o f King Nebuchadn ezza r, to ove rw helm the whole weste rn reg io n with h is c hariots , his 20 horsemen and his pic ked body of foot . ·A composite co rps brought up t he rear, Ju 7:12 as n ume ro us as locusts o r t he grai ns of sand on t he ground ; there was no JI 2:2-7, 11 counti ng their m ult itude . I

J U D IT H a

J UDIT H

2

7}

T he stages of Holofernes' advance" T h us they set o ut from Nineve h a nd ma rc hed for th ree days towards t he plain 1 a , Th e Vu lg. text di ffer s cons ide rably fro m the G reek . It s m ost im po rt a nt add it io ns will be found in t he foo tno tes, and where it s verse number ing is di ffere nt fr om the Gr ee k th is will be n ot ed . b. Ne b uc hadnezzar, k ing of Babyl on, was never styled ' king of Assy r ia ' , nor was N ineve h his ca pital. O n t he libe rt ies t he a ut ho r tak es with his tory , sec ln tr oduction to J udi th e tc . Here Nebuc hadnezza r s ta nds for th e mi gh ty and irre lig ious ene my of t he peo ple o f Go d. c. Arn haxad is u nk now n In his to rian s. His name per ha p s sug gest s P hruo rtcs, fo u nder o f th e k ingdo m of Med ia. d . T he hi gh platea ux of W. Ira n. e. T he author is p ro ba b ly re ferr ing to the king d om of Elvm ais , cf. 1 M 6: I . f, P robably the C hal dacans. g, Th e list men ti on s a ll the vassa ls or a llies of N eb ucha d nezzar. h. Lit. ' o ne ma n o nly' , i.e. left de pendent o n an y he lp he can find : t ho ug h p oss ib ly ' a man o f str aw' . i. Li t, ' the who le eart h', T he p hras e, com m o n in

Jd t , eit he r mea ns the dis trict referred to in the co ntex t (the who le cou nt ry) or is a hyp er b oli c ex p ress ion, l. T he p hrase is, perh aps de libera te ly, obscu re. It may be u nders tood ' as far as their wes ter n bo un daries' ,

2 a . O f h is re lnn. i.e. 5S7. t he yea r he ca p tured Jerus alem . T he au tho r p resu mably int e nds to co n tra st t hat d isaste r with the victo ry de scrib ed her e . This cha rner pr eserves a mem or y of C a na a nite con federac ies ag a ins t either As sy ria o r Baby lon. b. Ho to fernes and Baaoas. 12: 11, a re Pers ia n na mes an d t wo officers of Ar tax er xes III Oc hos were so named . T he aut ho r ma y ha ve wished 10 include (he ca mp a igns of t his k ing too und er th e (comp rehensive) na me of N eb uc ha d nezza r. c, O fficia l tit le of the Persian kings, d . Pers ia n fo rmul a for all th e faci lities requi red by a co nq uero r fo r his march an d his oc cup at io n . c. O n the place- na mes a nd the au thor's free trea tm ent of geog ra ph y. see Introduc tion.

l-

e...,

2:22

G n 10:6. 1J.22

Ex 15: 15-16

JUDITH

of Bectileth. From Becti leth they went on to pitch ca mp near the mou nta ins t hat lie to the north of U pper Cilicia. • From there Holofernes a dvan ced into the highlands with his whole army, infantry, horsemen, chariots.• He cut his way through Put an d L ud, stripped all the sons of Rassis and sons of Ishmael living on the verge of th e desert so uth of C heleo n, • marched along the Euphrates, crossed Mesopotamia, razed all the fortified towns controlling the wad i Abron and reached the sea. • Next he attacked the territo ries of Cilicia, butchering all who offered him resista nce, advanced on the southern frontiers of Japheth, facing Arabia, -comp letely encircled th e Midian ites, burned thei r tents and plundered their sheep-runs, -rnade his way down to the Damascus plain in th e time of the wheat ha rvest, " set fire to the fields, des tro yed the flocks a nd herds, sacked the towns, la id the countrys ide was te and put all the yo ung men to the swo rd.• Fear a nd trembling seized a ll the coastal peo ples. T he popul a tio ns o f Sidon a nd Tyre, of Sur, Oc ina , Jamnia , Azotus, Ascalon, were pan ic-st ricken. T hey therefore sent envoys to him to sue for peace and sa y, · 'We are servants of the great K ing Nebuchadnezzar and we lie prone before you . Treat us as yo u think fit. -Our cattle farms, all o ur land, all our wheat fields, o ur flocks and herd s, all the sheep -ru ns in our encampments are at your disposal. Do with them as you please. -Our towns a nd their inhabitants, too, are at your se rvice ; go a nd advance against them if such is yo ur good pleasu re.' •These men came to Holofernes and delivered the message as above. He th en mad e his way do wn to th e coa st wit h his army a nd sta tio ned garri sons in a ll the fo rt ified tow ns, levying o uts ta nding men there as a uxil iaries. T he people of these cities and o f a ll t he other towns in the neighbourh ood welcom ed him, wearing ga rlands and dan cing to the sou nd of tam bou rines. No twithsta ndi ng this, he demolished their shrines" and cut down their sacred trees, carry ing ou t his com m ission to destroy all loca l gods and to force the nations to worship Nebuchadnezzar a lone and to compel men of every language and nationality to hail him as a god . " Thus he reac hed the edge of Esdraelon, in the neighbourhood of Dothan, a village faci ng the great ridge of J udaea.• He pitch ed ca mp between Geba and Scyt hopolis and stayed the re a full mont h to re plenish his su pp lies.

62 5

IS 22

n J:

II

12

J3 13

J~

J; 14

J~ 15

3

Ex34: IJ !2 Ch 17:6

6:2

~ 8

~ 10

~ J .JZ 13

9 10

J uda ea on the alert

4

Whe n the Israel ites li: ing in Judaea hea rd how H olo fernes, general-in-ch ief I of Nebuchadnezzar king of the Assyrians, had treated th e various nati ons, first plundering t hei r temples a nd the n destroying them, -they were thorou ghly 2 a larmed a t his approach and trembled for Jeru sa lem and the Temple of th e Lord t heir God. •They had ret urned from captivity on ly a short time before, J a nd th e resettlemen t o f th e people in Judaea a nd the reconsecration of the sacred furn ish ings, o f th e a ltar, a nd of the Temple, whic h had been pro fan ed, were of recen t date." Th ey th erefor e a lerted th e whole o f Sa ma ria, Kona , Beth-he ro n, Belm a in, Jer icho, C hoba, Aesora a nd th e Salem va lley. •T hey occ upied th e sum mi ts of th e h ighest mountain s a nd fortified th e villages on th em; they laid in supplies 4 fo r th e coming wa r, as th e fields had j ust bee n ha rves ted .•Jo a kim the high ~ prie st, res ident in Jerusalem a t the tim e, wrote to th e inh abitants of Bethu lia a nd of Betornestha im,« tw o towns facin g Esdraelo n, towa rds the pla in of Dothan .• He ordered t he m to occu py t he mountain passes, the only means of access to J udaea, for there it would be ea sy for them to halt an attackin g force , the nar rown ess of t he approach n ot a llow ing men to a dvance more than two a br east. •T he Israelites ca rried out the o rders o f Joak im the high pr iest and of the people's Council of Elders in sessio n at Jerusal em .' A na tion at prayer All the men of Israel cr ied most ferve ntly to God and hum bled themse lves ~

be fore him. •T hey, th eir wives, th eir children, their cattle, all their res iden t ali ens, hired or sla ve, wrapped sackcloth round their lo ins.• All the Israelites in Je rusa lem, includ ing th e women and chi ldren, lay pr on e in front o f the Tem ple, and with ashes on t-heir heads str etc hed out th eir hands" before the Lord . •They draped the ve ry alta r in sackcl oth and fervently joined toget her in begging th e G od o f Israel not to let th eir little ones be massacred, thei r wives carried o ff, the towns o f the ir heritage destroyed, the Temple profaned a nd de sec rated for th e hea then to gloat over it. -T he Lord heard them and looked kindly on their di st ress. T he people fasted for many days thro u ghout Judaea as well as, in Jerusalem before the sa nct ua ry of the Lord A lmighty .' -Joakim the high priest and a ll who stood befo re th e Lo rd, th e Lo rd's pr iests a nd ministers, wo re sac kclot h round the ir loin s as they offe red the pe rpetu a l holocau st and the vot ive a nd volu nta ry offerin gs o f the peo ple. • Wit h ashes o n th eir turba ns they earnestly ca lled on the Lord to look kindl y on the House of Is rael.

Jon 3: 7-3

Est 4 : l f

ESl 4 :16

J 1 2: 17

5

H olofernes, gen eral- in-ch ief of the Assyrian a rmy, rece ived the intelli gen ce that t he so ns o f Israe l were preparing fo r war; that they ha d closed the mo un tai n passes, fo rt ified the hig h pea ks a nd laid o bstruct ions in the pla ins. H o lofern es was fur iou s. He summo ned a ll the pr inces of Moab, all the generals .\ of A mmo n and a ll th e sa tra ps o f the coast al region s. · 'Men of Ca naa n,' he said 'tell me: wha t peo ple is thi s tha t occup ies t he hig hlands? What to wn s d oes it inh ab it ? Ho w large is its ar my? Wh at a re th e so urces of its power and strength ? 4 W ho is the king who ru les it and comma nds its ar my ? •Wh y ha ve these not co ndescended to wa it on me , as all th e west ern peoples ha ve done''> Achier,' leader of all the Ammoni tes, rep lied , ' May my lord please liste n to what your ser vant is going to say . I w ill give you the facts about these mountain fol k whose home lies close to yo u. Y ou will hear no lie from the " mouth of yo ur servant. •These people are descended from t he Chaldaeans. 7 T hey once came to live in Mesopotamia, beca use they did not want to follow K the gods of t heir a nces tors who lived in C ha ldaea. •They abandoned th e way of the ir a ncesto rs to wo rsh ip th e God o f hea ven ,' th e God they had learn t to ac knowledge. Ban ished from the presence o f th eir own gods , the y fled to 'I Meso po ta mia whe re they lived for a long time . •W hen G od to ld them to lea ve th eir ho me and set o ut for Ca naa n, they sett led the re and accumulated gold a nd ' ~ silver a nd great herd s of catt le. • Next, fam ine ha ving overwhelmed the land of Ca naa n, th ey went down to Egypt wher e they stayed as lo ng as food cou ld be fo und there. T here th ey becam e a great multitude, a race beyo nd counting. l,\ Hut the kin g o f Egy pt tu rne d ag a inst the m a nd ex p loited them by forc ing t he m I I" ma ke bri cks; he deg ra de d them, red ucing them to slave ry . •They cried to /I thei r God , who struck th e ent ire land o f Egyp t with incurabl e plagues, and th e 1

5

5:1 2

A counc il of war in H olofernes' ca mp

J

4

J U DI T-H

f . T he H eb re ws dis t inguish the ba rle y har vest , d . ' the ir ha nds' co rr. : ' the ir sa ck cloth ' G reek : III Apr-il, cf. 2 S 2 1:9 fro m t he whea t ha rvest, a t th e v utc. ' t he y made t he ir c h ildren lie pr o ne in front of o f May . J a . Fo llo wing the Sv r tac ve rs io n : G reek ' he la id th e Temple'. e. l n the vu te . t he hi gh pr iest tr a ve ls t hr ou gh t heir lan d wast e' . b. N e it he r the Ass yr ia n nor th e Baby lo nia n k ings Israel ur uina the peo ple to pray. b y re m ind ing th em o f defeat o f Amalck . Ex 17:9- 13. t he ever ins iste d o n th is. The Se teucids. fn llO\\ling A lex5 a . On J e wis h refu sal to co n for m . sec Es t 3:S +. unde r' s lead. were the first to cla im d ivine honours . b . T he figure of Ac hie r t he A m mo n ite see m s to be .~ a. T he aut hor igno res time (d . Int roduct io n) to 1'1;I\: c the re tu rn Irorn ex ile a nd t he ren on ulanon o f m od e lled o n A hika r th e virtu ou s paga n sage, d . T b Jerusale m (539-400>, eve n pe r haps t he pu r ifica tion o f 1:21 1- . Int o h is mout h th e a u thor p uts a s u m m a ry o f th e Te m p le aft er the pe rs ec utio n of A n rioc hus IV ( 65), th e h is tory o f Isr ael. co nceive d of in terms o f the act s of God . a fa vo ur ite QT. the me . cf. es peci a lly Ps 78. ;111 in the lifet ime o f N eb uc had ne zza r . h . The two tow ns a re not men ti on ed else where . 105.106 : cf. Ez k 16,2 0 ; Ws ior. a nd in N.T. Ac 7. Hcrh u lia is re pr esente d he re as a key posi tio n do mi na t- Cf. t he e pi sod e of Sa laam t he pa ean sooths a ye r , N b 22-24 . This prepares t he war fo r th e di scourse o f lfl ~ the approach es to Jud a h. v . 7 and 8:2 1. c . A 'Council of Eld ers ' associated wit h the high Judith . 11:9-1 9. c. Characteristic ally Persia n expressi o n , cf. Ez r p ries t is not fou nd in pre -exilic ti m es b ut appears as a n 5: l l f ; 6:9f a nd the El ephantine p a pyri. es ta blis hed institution in t he G ree k period. t"ll d

N b20:2J+

11:9-19

G n ll:J I12:5 G n15 :14 Gn42 :1-5 : 46:1 -7 E x 1:7

Ex l:8 - 14

6:6 Ex 7-12

5: 13

JUDITH

lii w

626

62 7

13.14 Egy pti ans ex pelled them. -God d ried u p the Red Sea before them -and led 11 them forwa rd by way of Sinai and Ka desh-ba rn ea. H aving driven off all the inha bi tants of the desert, -they set tled in the lan d of the A morites a nd suc h 15 was their strength, exterminated the in ha bitan ts of H esh bon . Then, having crossed the Jordan, they took possession of all the highlands, -d riving o ut the 13 Canaan ites before them and the Perizzites, Jebus ites, Shechem ites and all the Gi rgas hites, a nd lived there for many years. ·AIl the wh ile they did not sin before their God, prosperity was theirs, for they have a God who hates wickedness.• But when they turned from the path he had ma rked out for them 1~ som~ were exterminated in a succession of battles, ot hers taken captive to a fore ign la nd. T he Temple of their G od was ra zed to th e ground an d their towns were seized by the ir enemies. -T hen having tu rn ed o nce agai n to their God, yt they came back fro m the places to which the y had been dispersed a nd scatte re d reg a ined possession of Jeru salem , where they have thei r Tem ple, an d reoccupied the highlan ds which had been left des erted . -So now, master and lord, if this ~~ people has comm itted an y fa ult, if they have sinned agai nst their God, let us first make sure tha t th ey hav e offended in this way , and the n let us adva nce and at tack them .• But if t heir na tion is gui ltless, my lord wou ld do better to abstain, ~} for fear tha t their Lord and God shou ld protect them; we should then become the lau gh ing-st ock of th e who le world.' When Ach ior had ended this speech, all the people crowding round the tent }~ began protesting. H olofernes' own senior officers, as well as a ll the coastal peo ples and the Moabites, threatened to tear him limb from limb. • 'W hy sho uld }} we be afraid of the Israel ites? T hey a re a wea k a nd powerless peo p le, q uite 18 un ab le to. stand a stiff att~ck . • Forward! Advance! Your army, Holofernes our 24 master, will swallow them In one mo uthful!'d

1;

9:7: 16:2

Achior handed over to the Israelites

6

When the uproar of those crowding ro und the co uncil had subsided I Ho lofernes, general-in-chief of the Assyrian army, reprimanded Achior in front of the whole crowd of foreigners and Ammonites." · 'Achior, who do yo u 2 think ~ou are, you and the Ammonite mercenaries, play ing the prop het like 9:7 th is wit h us today, a nd trying to dissuade us fro m maki ng war o n th e peopl e o f Israel? Yo u claim their God will pr otect the m . A nd who is th eir God if no t J:S Dn3: Nebucha dnezzar? He him self will d ispl ay his power a nd wipe th em off the face 14·IS ts 36 of the ea rt h, a nd their God wi ll cer ta inly not save them.• But we, his serva nts, 3 18· 20: sha ll dest roy them as ea sily a s a sing le indi vid ua l. T hey can never resis t the 37:4 : 16-20 st rengt h o f o ur cava lry.• We sha ll hurn the m a ll. T heir mou nt a ins will be drunk 4 with t!leir blood and th eir plain s filled with the ir corpses. Far from being a ble to resist us, everyone of them will die ; t hus says Ki ng Nebuchadnezzar, lord of th e whole worl d . For he has spoken, and his words will not prove empty. As fo r you, Ach ior, yo u Am mo nite mercenary, who in a rash mom en t said 5 these words, yo u sha ll not see my face agai n , until th e d ay when I hav e tak en 5: 12 : 16: 12 my reve nge on thi s brood of fugitives from Egypt. -And then the swords o f my so ldiers and the spears I) of my officers will pierce your sides. Yo u will fall among the wounded, the moment I turn on Israel. • My servants will now take 7 you into the h ighlan ds and leave you near o ne of the towns in the passes ; 'you 8 will no t die, unt il you share their ru in.• No need to loo k so sad if you cher ish 9 the secret hope that they will not be captured! I have spoken; no ne of my words s will prove id le.' Ho lofernes having commanded his tent-orderlies to seize Ach ior, to take him 10 to Bethu lia and to hand him over to t he Israelites, -the orde rlies too k hi m, ;, escorted him out of the camp and across the plain, and then, ma king for the 8 highla nds, reac hed the spr ing s below Bethul ia. -As soon as the men of the 12 tow n sigh ted them, they snatched u p their weapons, left the to wn and mad e for the mountain tops, while all the slingers pelted them with sto nes to prevent

JUDITH

I~

the m from co mi ng up . •However, they managed to take cover at the foot of the slope, where they bound Achior and left him lying a t the bottom of the mountain and returned to their master. 14 The Israelites then came down from their town, stopped by him, unbound 10 him and took him to Bethulia, where they brought him before the chief men of the tow n, 'who at that time were Uzz iah so n of Mica h of the tribe of Simeon,' 16 Cha bris son of Gothoniel and C harmis son of Melc hiel. •These summoned all the elders of the town. The young men and the women also hurried to the asse mb ly. Achior was made to stand with all the people surrounding h im and g Uzzi a h q uest ioned him abo ut what had happened . • He answered by tell ing them what ha d been sa id at Hol o ferne s' co uncil, a nd what he h imsel f had sa id in the IJ pr esence o f th e Assy ria n leaders, a nd how Ho lofern es had br agged of wha t he l~ wo uld do to th e H o use of Israel. - At thi s the people fell to the gro u nd a nd Jj worshi pped God. ·'Lord God of heaven; they cri ed 't ake no tice of th eir ar ro gance a nd hav e pity on the humiliat ion of our race. Lo ok kindly to day o n 7~ th ose who are co nsecrated to you .' •T hey then spo ke rea ssuringly to Achio r and praised him warmly. -After the assem bly Uzz iah took him home and ga ve a banquet for the elders; a ll tha t night they ca lled o n the God o f Israel fo r hel p.

lJ

n

II. BET H ULIA UND ER SIEGE T he campaign aga inst Isr ael

7

The followi ng day Ho lofernes issued or de rs to h is whole ar my a nd to th e whole host of a uxi lia ries who had jo ined h im to break cam p a nd ma rch on Bet hulia, to occupy the mo unta in pass es a nd so op en the ca m pa ign aga inst the 2 Israelites. -T he tro ops brok e ca mp that same day. The act ual fighti ng force numbered one hundred and twenty thousand" infa ntry a nd twelve tho usa nd cavalry, no t to ment io n the bagg age tra in with the vast number of men on foot 3 co ncern ed with that. -They pene trated the valley in the neig hbour hood of Beth ulia, near th e spr ing, a nd depl oyed on a wide fro nt fro m Do tha n to Ba lba im 4 and, in dep th, from Bethulia to Cya rnon, which faces on Esd raelo n. • W hen the Israelites saw this horde, th ey were a ll a ppa lled a nd sa id to each o ther, ' N ow they will lick the whole co untry clean. Not even the loftiest pea ks, the go rges , or the hills will be able to sta nd the weight of them.' -E ach man sna tched up his ar ms ; they lit beacons on their towers a nd spent the whole nig ht o n wa tch. On the secon d day H o lo fern es dep loyed his en tire caval ry in sight of the Israelites in Bethulia.• H e reco nnoitred t he slo pes leading up to the town , loca ted the wa ter-points, seized them a nd posted pickets over them and returned to the K mai n bod y.• The chiefs of the sons of Esa u, the leaders of the Moa bites« a nd '. the genera ls of the coasta l district then came to him and sa id, ·'If o ur ma ste r III will please list en to us, his forc es will not susta in a single wou nd . •T he Israelites do not rely so much on their spe ar s as on the height of th e mountains where they live. And a dmi tte dly it is not a t a ll ea sy to sca le th ese he ights of theirs. II 'Th is being the case, ma ste r, do not eng age them in a pitched battle, and then I I yo u will not lose a single ma n. · Stay in cam p, kee p a ll your troops the re too, v while your ser va nts sei ze th e sp ring wh ich rise s a t the foot o f th e mo un tain, I I since tha t is what provides the populat ion o f Beth ulia with the ir wa te r sup ply . I

d . Ag ains t Ac hi or 's reli giou s in terp re ta tio n of c. T he a u tho r of t he book se ems to be p ar tf cu tarl v hist or-ythey urge t he huma n a ra um ent , bru te fo rce. Th e int er es ted in the trib e of Simcon wh ich pla ys so en ure book de monst rates Ac hi or's co n tent io n which incon spicu ou s a par t in Israe li te h istorv. T he nam e J ud it h sus ta ins. 11: 10 . o f Uz zia h re ca lls that o f Uz ziel, 1 C h 4:42. In 9:2 · 4 6 a . 'A m mo nites' Re c . Lu c . : ' M o a b ites ' Te xt. Rec. j ud ith re habili tates the pa tr ia rch censu red in Go 34:30 In the fo llowi ng verse read 'A m mo n ite' wit h Yer. Lat , an d 49 :5-7. a nd Syr. ; Tex t. Rec . 'E p h rai m lte'. 7 a. '120.000 ' wit h vu ra.. cf. 2:1 l): '170.000' G re ek. b. 'spear s' Vet. La t. a nd Svr . b. T he Edomit es r'sc ns of Esa u' ) and Mo abites are tr adi tional ene m ies o f Isra el , Nb 20 :23 + .

1M 12:28·29

I K2 0:23. 28 Ps69: J4. 16

•r

JUD IT H

628

Thirst will then force them to surrender their town. Meanwhile, we an d ou r men will climb the neares t mountain tops an d form advance post s there to prevent anyone from leaving the town . • Hunger will waste them with the ir wives an d children, and befo re the sword can reach them the y will alread y be lying in the st reets ou tside their ho uses. -And you will ma ke th em pay dea rly for t heir defian ce a nd their refusa l to meet you peaceably.' Thei r words pleased Ho loferne s as well as all his officers an d he decided to do as they suggested. -Accord ingly a troop of Moab itesr mo ved forw ard with a further five thou san d Assyrians. T hey penetrat ed the valley an d seized the Israelites' waterp oin ts an d springs.• Mea nwhile the Edomite s and Amm o nites went and took up positions in the highlands opposite Dothan, sendi ng some of their men to the south-east opposite Egrebel , near C hous on the wad i Moc hmur. T he rest of the Assyrian army took up positions in the plain , covering every inch of the earth ; the ir tents and equipment made an immens e encampment, so vast were their numbers. The Israeli tes called on the Lo rd the ir G od, dis pirited because the enem y had surrounded th em and cut all line of retreat. •For thirty-four days the Assyrian army, infantry, chariots, cavalrymen, had them surrounded. Every water jar the inhabitants of Bethulia had was empt y, -t heir wells were drying up; on no da y could a man quench his thirst , since thei r water was rationed. •T heir little ch ildren pined away, the women and you ng men grew weak with thirst ; they colla psed in the stre ets and gateways of the town; they had no strength left. Young men, women, children, the whole people thronged clamouri ng round Uzzia h an d the chief men of the tow n, shouting in the presence of the asse mble d elders, ·'May God be ju dge between you and us! For you have done us gre a t harm, by not suing for peace with the Assyrians. -And now there is no one to help us. God has delivered us into their ha nds to be prostrated before them in t hirst and utter helplessness. -Call them in at once; hand the who le town ove r to be sacke d by Holofernes' men and all his army. •After all, we should be muc h better off as their boot y than we are now ; no do ubt we shall be enslaved , bu t a t least we shall be alive and not see our little ones dy ing before our eyes o r our wives and children perishing.• By heaven and earth and by our God, the Lor d of our fathers who is pun ishing us for our sins and the sins of our a ncestors," we implore you to take t his course' now, to day.' • Bitter lament a tions rose from the whole assembl y, and they all cried loud ly to the Lor d God J The n Uzziah spoke to them, 'Ta ke hea rt, brothers : Let us hold out five days mo re. By then the Lord our God will tak e pity on us, for he will not desert us altogether. · At the end of thi s time, if t here is no help forth coming, I will do as you ha ve said.' • Wit h that he dismissed th e peopl e to t heir various q uarters. The men went to man the walls a nd towers of the town , sendin g the women and chi ldren home. Th e to wn was full of despondency.

6

14 7

15 8

~Z

8:22

roof. She wore sackcloth round he r waist and dressed in widow's weeds. -She fasted every da y of her wido whood except for the sabbath eve, the sabbath itself, the eve of New Moon, the feast of New Moon and the festival days of the House of lsrael. •Now, she was very beautiful, charming to see. Her husband Manasseh had left her gold and silver, menservants a nd maidservants, cattle a nd la nds; and she lived amo ng all her possessions -w ithout an yone findin g a wo rd to say against her, so devoutly did she fea r Go d.

Lk 2:37... 10:2

17

18

19

7~ 21

"

n 7~ 7~

7~ 7~

7~

7~ ~~ l4

}} 32

III. JU D IT H A portrait of J udith Judith- was info rmed at the time of wha t had happened. She was the daughte r I of Mer ari son of Ox, son of Joseph, son of Oziel, son of Elkia h, son of Ananias, son of Gideon, son of Raphaim, son of Ahitu b, so n of Elija h, son of Hilk iah, son of Eliab, son of Na tha nael, son of Sala miel, son of Sarasadai, son of Israel. b Her husband Ma nasse h, of her own tr ibe a nd famil y, had d ied at the t ime of barley harvest. • He was supe rvising the men as they bound up the sheaves in ) the field when he ca ught suns troke a nd had to take to his bed . He died in Bethulia, his hom e town, and was bur ied with his ancestors in the field that lies between Dothan a nd Balamon . -As a widow. J udith stayed inside her home for three 4 years and four months. -She had had an upper room built for herself on the 5

8

JU D IT H

629

Judith and the elders Hearing how the water sho rtage had demoralised the people and how they had complained bitterly to the headman of the town, and being also told what Uzziah had said to them and how he had given them his oath to surrender the 10 tow n to the Assyria ns in five days' time, -Judith immediately sent her woman of affairs who managed her property to summon Chabris and Charmis, two elders II of the tow n. •When these came in she said: ' Listen to me, lead ers of the people of Bethulia. You were wrong to speak to the peop le as you did today and to bind yoursel f by oath, in defiance of GO? , ~o sur render the town to our ene mies if the Lord did not come to your help within 3b38:2 ;40:2f. a set num ber of days. •W ho are you, to put God to the test today , you, out 7[ ;42;3 13 of all manki nd, to set yo urse lves above him? •Yo u of all people to pu t the Lord P r 14: 10 14 Almighty to the test ! You do not understa nd a nything, a nd never will. • If you lCo2:\I cannot sound the dep ths of the heart of ma n or unravel the arg uments of his P s I3 9: 16-17 mind, how can you fathom t he God who made all things, or so und his min d R m l l :J3 -34 or unravel his purposes? No, broth ers, do not pro voke the a nger of the Lord 15 our God. •Alt ho ugh it may no t be his will to help us wit hin the next five days, he has the power to protect us for as ma ny days as he pleases, just as he has the 16 power to destroy us before o ur enemies. -But you have no right to deman.d 15 gua ra ntees where the designs of the Lord our G od are concerned. For God IS 17 not to be coerc ed as man is, nor is he, like mere man, to be cajoled.• Rather, as we wait pa tiently fo r him to sa ve, let us plea d with him to help us. H e will hear our voice if such is his goo d pleasure. c 5:20-21.' ' And indeed of recen t t imes a nd st ill to day the re never has been one tr ibe \1 :10 18 of ours, or famil y, or village, o r town tha t ha s worshipped gods mad e with human Ps 7l 56f; 106;13 f 19 hands, as once was done, -a nd that was the reason why our a ncestors were Jr 7:1 7-2 0: delivered over to sword and sack, and peri shed in misery at the hands of our 14;715:9 + 20 enemies. We for our part acknowledge no other God than him; and so we may Ezk 16;15-58 d hope he will not look on us disdainfull y or desert our nation', 21 'I f indeed they capture us, as you expect, then all Judaea WIll be ca ptured to~, and our ho ly places plundered, and we shall ans wer with our blood for the ir 22 profanation. •T he sla ughter of our brothers, the exile of our country,. the unpeopling of our he ritage , will recoil on our own head s among the nation s whose slaves we will become, and our new masters will look dow n on us as an

n

c. 'Moabites' Vet. La t. a nd Syr. : 'Amm on ites'

Text. Rec. d. Pu nishment for ind ivid ua l fault s here in vo lves co llective p uni shmen t f OT th e na tio n . in accordance w ith Is rael's ancien t co nvic tio n tha t the gu il t a n d p un ishm ent of one mean t the guilt and pu nis hme nt

of a ll. e . ' to ta ke t his cou rse' Syr . a nd Ve t. Lac ; ' no t to ta ke t his co urse' Gr eek . r. Vulg. gives th is p ra yer t hus '1 9 W e ha ve si n ned with ou r ancestors, we have acted wick ed ly, we have co m mitt ed a grav e sin . 20 Have mer cy on us. s ince

Jewess" . judi th. whose ac tio n rivals th at of Jael, Jg 4: 17-22 . is the model of a true d au ght er of Isr ael. In her so ng of tri um ph . 16:2,4, etc., the voice is t ha t of th e whole nat ion personified in her. b. T his genea lo gy om its th e name of Simeon (fou nd in certai n MS S a nd vers ions) , cf. 9:2 . Bu t v , 2 pres upposes so me tr ib al na me . c. Like Job, the elders of Bethulia were wro ng

to Quest ion G od' s in te~ tions , Jb 38:2 , erc . : like him

the y sho u ld s ub mit in silence . Bu t the author o f Jdt tea ches a m o re filia l trust than Jb . and his co nce ptio n y o u are goo d. or p uni sh o u r i niq uit ies vo u rself': d o of t he power of prayer is already C h ris tia n . d . T h is co n viction. al rea dy stated by Ach ior , will no t de liver those who trust yo u to a peo ple th at does no t know you! 21 So that the p a gan s m ay not sa y: be repeated by Judi th in t he p res en ce of H o lofernes. jud ith jo ins her co mpa triots in a nat ional exa min a tio n Where is t heir Go d ':' [ef. Ps 42:10 ; JI 2: 17], 22 Then , of co nscie nce. which acqu its them of the id ol atry long ti red of cryi ng an d wea ry of weeping . mev fell sile nt.' 8 a . T he na me of Jud ith (cr. Gn 26:3 4) seems to si nce de no u nced by the prophets but not r oot ed ou t ha ve bee n chosen by t he a uth or for its meaning 'the u ntil the pe rio d of the seco nd Temple.

". ~ :::;

8:23

G021 :1-9:

2X:5 : 29:22 -30 : 31

014:7

E x.'\ O:7.~

Ps 14 1:2

6: 15 fGn 34

Is 44 :7

PsIl5:3: 135 :6

JUDITH

630

o utrage and a disgrace; ·1'01' our su rre nder will not reinstate us in their favour; no, the Lo rd our God will mak e it a thing to be ashamed of. -So now , brothers, let us set an exampl e to o ur brothers, since their lives depend o n us a nd our most sacred possession s- T em ple and a ltar-rest on us. 'All this being so, let us rat her give thanks to th e Lord o ur God who , as he tested our a ncesto rs, is now testing us.' • Remember how he tre at ed Abraha m, a ll the o rdeals of Isaac, all that happened to Jacob in Syrian Mesopotam ia while he kept the sheep of Laban. his mother's brother. • For as these ordeals were intended by him to search their hearts, so now th is is not vengeance God exacts aga inst us, but a warning inflicted by the Lord on th ose who are near his heart.' Uzzia h rep lied , ' Everyth ing you ha ve sa id has been spo ken from sincerity o f heart and no one will contradict a word of it. • Not that tod ay is the first time yo ur wisdom has been displayed ; from your earl iest yea rs all the peopl e hav e kn own how sh rewd yo u are a nd o f how so und a hea rt. • But, parch ed with thirst, the peop le forced us to ac t as we had pro mised them and to bind o u rse lves by a n inviolable oa th. -You a re a dev out woma n ; pra y to the Lo rd , t hen, to send us a down pour to fill o ur cis terns, so th at our fa intness may pass.' Judith rep lied. ' Listen to me. I inten d to do something, the memory of which will be ha nded down to the children o f ou r race from age to age . •T onight yo u must be at the gate of the town . I shall make my way out with my att enda nt. Before the time fixed by you for surrendering the town to our enemies, the Lo rd will ma ke use of me to rescue Israel. • You must not ask what I intend to do ; I will not tell you unt il I ha ve done it.' • Uzziah a nd the ch ief man said, 'Go in peace . May the Lord show you a wa y to take revenge on our enemies.' - An d leaving the upper room the y went back to th eir pos ts. Judith's prayer Jud ith th rew herself face to the ground, scatt ered ashe s on her hea d , uncovered the sackclo th she was wearing and cried loudl y to th e Lo rd. At the sa me time in Jeru salem the evening incen se was bein g offered in the Te mple of God." Judith sa id:

9

' Lo rd. G od of my father Sim eon , you armed him with a sword to tak e vengeance on the foreigners who had. u nd o ne a virgi n's gird le" to her shame, laid bare her th igh to her co nfusio n, violated her wo m b to her d isho nou r, since though you sa id, "T his mu st not be" , they did it. Fo r this you handed their leaders over to slaughter, the ir bed, defiled by t heir dece it, to blood . You struck the slaves down with the chiefs and the ch iefs with their servants. C You left the ir wives to be carried o ff, their da ughters to be ta ken ca ptiv e, and their spoi ls to be shared out a mong the sons you loved , who had been so zea lous for you , had loathed th e stai n put on their blood a nd ca lled on you for help. 'God, my God, now hear th is wid ow too; for you ha ve made the past, a nd what is happening no w, and what will follow. W ha t is, what will be, you ha ve planned; wha t has been , you designed. Yo ur purposes stood forward ;

63/

"See, we are here !" they sa id. Fo r all of your ways a re prepar ed an d yo ur judgemen ts delivered wit h fo reknow ledge.

23 24

'See t he Assyrians, boasting in t heir army, glorying in their ho rses a nd their ride rs, exu ltin g in th e strength of their infantry. Trust as the y may in shield and spear, in bow and sling , in you they ha ve not recogni sed the Lord, t he shatterer of wa r ; yours alo ne t he titl e of Lord.

}; }~ 27

28 29 /I

30

~~ 32

H 3~ 3~

<)

11

10

36 /5

I

JUDITH

II 16

12

17

1.1 IH

1,1 1'1

Jb 38:3 5 BJ.3:35 Is46:9- 13

5:23 : 6:2

2 M X:IX Ps 33:16-1 7

16:2

Ps 46 :9 :76 :4

'B rea k th eir violence with you r might , in you r ange r bring down their strength. For they plan to pro fan e your holy pla ces, . to defil e the ta bern acl e, the res ting place of yo ur glO rIOUS nam e, a nd to thro w down with iron the horn o f yo ur altar. Observe their arrogance, send your fury on thei r head s, give the needful courage to th is widow' s ha nd. By gu ile of my lips str ike slave do wn with mas ter, and master wit h his serva nt. Break the ir p ri de by a woman's ha nd. 'Y our st re ngth do es not lie in num bers, nor yo ur might in viol ent men ; since yo u a re the G od o f the humble, the hel p of th e o pp ressed , the sup port of the wea k, the refuge o f the forsaken , the sa viour of th e despairing: ' Please , please, God of my fath er, God of the heritag e of Israel, Master of hea ven and ear th, C rea to r o f th e wat er s, Ki ng of your who le creation, hea r my prayer. G ive me a beguiling to ngue to wo und and kill those who ha ve fo rmed such cruel desig ns against your covena nt, against your hol y dwellin g place, against Moun t Z ion, aga inst the hou se belonging to your so ns. And demo nstrate to every natio n, every tribe, t hat you a re Ya hweh, G od' a lmighty, a ll-powerful, e . The lesson of patriar chal history (w hic h the

d . WS l Scl l .

au thor of Jb had not detected ) : th e SUffer ing of th e

good man is not pun ishment but trial. d . N o te ho w the relini on o f the ' p oo r ' (anawim) 9 a. The author Ire quenuy refer s to Jeru salem . the Temp le. the llturg v. the high priest, 4:2.3. 6-8 : 5:19: is rec o gnisable here ; it is char ac te risti c of O. T. orcrv . cf. Zp 2:3 .1- . A lso Jr. . . . 8:2 1-24 : 9:8.1 3 : 15:g: 16: 18. e. G reek reads 'G od , Go d ', an Elo histlc edi to rial b. 'gird le' co rr.: 'wo mb' G reek. touc h. So also in 13:II. c. Line corrected in accor da nce with 9:10 ;

I S 14:" J~

7:4-7

10:4 : 11:20.23 :

16:6 ,\) ESf4 : 17r-5

10:1

JUDITH

633

63 2

and that the race of Israel has you for sole protector.'

JUDIT H

11: 16

he ca me out to the open pa rt of the tent, with silver to rches carried befo re hi m. ~t Whe n J ud ith conf ronted the gene ral an d his adjutant, the beauty of her

face as tonished them all. She fell on her face and did homage to hi m, bu t his servan ts raised her from th e ground.

IV . JU D IT H A N D HOLOFERNES

II

Th e first meeting of Judith with HoIofernes J udith goes to the camp of Holofernes

10

8:6

9:13 +

12:2 Lv 17:10-14 Est4 :17x

1

3

4

5

6

7

'May the God of ou r ancestors keep you in his favour! May he grant your purposes fulfilment to the glory o f the son s of Isra el, to the gre ater glor y of Je rusale m!'

11:5

Ju dit h wor shipped G od , a nd th en she sai d, 'Have the tow n ga te o pened fo r me 9 so that I can go o ut and mak e a ll yo ur wishes come tru e' . T hey did as she as ked a nd gave o rders to the yo ung men to ope n the gat e for her. •T his d one. J ud ith 10 wen t ou t acco mpa nied by her maid , wh ile the men of the tow n wa tched' her a ll the way down the mountain and ac ross the va lley, unt il the y lost sight o f her. As the women were mak ing st raight throug h (he va lley, an advance unit o f 11 Assyria ns intercep ted them , -and seizing Judith began questioning her. 'W hich 12 side are yo u on? Where do yo u come from ? Whe re are you goin g?' ' I am a daughter of the Hebrews,' she repl ied 'a nd I am fleeing from them since they will soon be yo ur prey. ·1 am on my wa y to see Ho lofernes, t he genera l o f yo ur 13 a rmy , to give him tr us twort hy infor ma tion .' I will sho w him the road to take if he wa nts to capt ure a ll the highla nds witho ut losing o ne man or o ne life.' As the me n liste ned to what she was saying , th ey stared in astonishment a t the 14 sight o f such a bea utiful woman . • ' It will pro ve the saving of you,' they sa id 15 to her 'com ing down to see o ur master o f you r own accord. You had better go to his tent ; some of our men will esco rt you an d han d yo u over to him.• O nce 16 yo u are in his prese nce do not be afr a id. Tell hi m what yo u have ju st to ld us a nd you will be well trea ted.' -They then detailed a hund red of their men as escort 17 for herself a nd her a tte nda nt , a nd these led them to th e tent o f Ho loferne s. News of her co ming had a lready spread throu gh the te nts , a nd there wa s a 18 general st ir in the ca mp . She wa s sti ll o uts ide the ten t of Ho lo fernes wa iting to be a n no unced , when a crowd bega n forming ro und her . •T hey were im mensely 19 Impressed by her beauty and impressed with the Israelites beca use o f her. ' Who /8 cou ld de spis e a people ha ving wo men like this?' they kept sayi ng. ' Better not leave o ne man of them ali ve ; let a ny go and the y wo uld twist the whole wo rld ro u nd thei r fingers !' T hen the bodyguard a nd adjutants o f Ho lofernes came o ut and led Judith 20 into the tent. • Holo fern es was resting o n his bed under a ca no py of pur ple a nd gold studded with emeralds an d prec ious stones . •The men a nno unced her a nd "

n

11

'Cour age, woman,' Holofernes said 'do no t be afraid. I have never hurt any o ne who ch ose to serve Nebuchad nezzar, kin g of the who le world. 2 Even now, if your nat io n of mountain dwelle rs had no t insulted me , I would 3 no t have raised a spear against them . T his was their fa ult, not mine. • But tell me, wh y ha ve you fled from them and co me to us? .. An yhow, th is will prove th e sav ing of you. Courage! You will live through this night, a nd ma ny after. 4 No one shall hurt you . No , yo u shall be treat ed as well as all those a re who serve my lord King Nebuchadnezza r.' ~ Judith said. 'Please listen favo ur ably to what your slave has to say. Permit your servant to speak in your presen ce. I will speak no word of a lie in my lord's 6 presence tonight. " •You have only to follow your servant's adv ice a nd God will brin g you r work to a successful conclusio n; in what my lor d un derta kes he shall not fail. -Long life to Nebuchadnezza r, king of the whole world, who has sent you to set every living soul to right s ; may his power endure! Since, than ks to you , he is served not only by men, bu t th rough your compulsion the wild animals themselves, the cattle, and the birds of the air are to live in the service of Nebuch adn ezzar and his whole House. 'We have indeed heard of your genius and adroitness of mind. It is known everywhere in the world that throughou t th e empire you have no rival for ab ility, ~ wealth of experience and brilliance in waging war. •We have also heard what Achior said in h is speech to your council. The men of Bethulia having spared 10 him , he has to ld them everything that he said to you. -Now, master and lor d, 8 do not disregard what he said ; keep it in your mind, since it is true;> ou r na tion will not be punished, the sword will indeed have no power over them, unl ess I b they sin aga inst their God. • But as it is, my lord need expect no repulse or setback, since deat h is about to fall on their heads, for sin has gained a hol d over the m, pr o voki ng th e a nger of their God eac h ti me th a t they commit it. As the y a re short o f food a nd their water is giving out, they have resolved to fall ba ck o n their cattle a nd decided to ma ke use of all th e things that G od has, by his la ws, forbidden the m to eat. c • Not only hav e they made u p th eir minds to eat the first -fru its of corn a nd the tithes of wine an d oil, though th ese h ave been consecrated by them a nd set a pa rt fo r the priests who serve in Jerusalem in the presen ce of our G od a nd may not, la wfull y, even be touc hed by the 14 people," -but the y have even sent men to Je ru salem- where the inhabita nts are doing much the same- to br ing them bac k authorisation from the Council of 15 Elders . •No w this will be the outcome: when the permission arrives and they act on it , that very da y they shall be del ivered over to you for destru ction. 16 'When I, you r servant, came to know all th is, I fled fro m them. God has sent 13 1

Th us Judith ca lled on the God of Israel. When she had finished pray ing, she rose from whe re she lay, summo ned he r attendant and went d ow n into the rooms which she used o n sabbath da ys and feasts .• There she removed the sackclo th she was wea ring and , tak ing off her widow's dress , she washed all over, anointed herself with costly perfumes , dressed her ha ir, wrapped a turban ro und it a nd put o n t he d ress she used to wear o n joyful occas ions when her husba nd Ma nasseh was alive. -S he put sandals on her feet, put on her necklaces, bracelets, rings, earrings a nd a ll her jewelle ry, a nd mad e herself beaut ifu l enough to ca tch th e eye of every man who sa w her. a • Then she hand ed her a tte ndan t a ski n of wine an d a flask of o il, filled a bag with barl ey gird le cakes, cakes of dri ed fr u it a nd pure loa ves, " and wrapping all these provisio ns up gave them to her as well. -They the n went out, mak ing for the town gate of Beth ulia. There they foun d Uz ziah waiti ng with the two elde rs o f the to wn , C hab ris a nd C ha rmis. Whe n they saw J udith, her face so cha nged and her clothes so different, th ey were lost in admiration of her beauty. They said to her:

10:13+

Jr 27:6

Ba 3:16-17 Dn 2:38

5:5

5:21 ;8:18

lO.n

g

l Oa. v uta. adds ' And the Lo rd also ga ve her more bea uty, since all this dressing -up proceeded no t from sensuality. but from virtue' (cr. Es t 5:1 Greek, 15:4.5 Yulg .) . T he G reek, which relates Judith's b old enterprise wit hout Qualification, leaves it to be un derstood up to t he cr y of thanksgi vin g i n 13:16 that God is with her an d will keep her safe . b. Judi th see ms mor e scr up ulous about lega l p urity th an Esther. mo re exa ctin g even th an the Law itself. cr. 11:17 ; 12:6-9. c . Th e protestations of truth. cr. 11:5.10. ascribed to J udith. wh o is determine d to deceive Hclofernes, 11:12· 19. are to be ta ken in the moral context of the patriarchal age (cf. Gn 27:1-25 : 34:13-29 : 37:32-341 or of the wars of Yahweh in the days of the judges (Jos 2:

1~7; J g 4: 17-22 ), when the st ory is supposed to take place.

11 a . J udith's speech is ingeniously ambiguous . The 'work' an d the ' lord' me n tion ed in v. 6 mea n one thing for h er , an other for Holofemes . Same ambiguity in v , 16. In v. 8 Judith praises Holofemes' perspicacity at the very moment she hoodwinks him . b. Another ambiguity ; Achier's words h ad been true. but Judith's p rop hecy of what the Jews wi ll do is not. c. vuta . makes 'the drinking of blood" the fa ult. Lv 17:10-14 . d . Here again the author exaggerates the demands of the Law. possibly following a Pharisaic tradition.

Dt 14:22 +

"

11:17

JUDITH

635

634

JUDITH

13: 18

with us!' .'1 am delighted to do so, Lord, for since my birth I have never felt my life mo re worthwhile th an today.' -She took what her maid .had prepared, 20 an d ate and. d ran k facing him. • Holofernes was so encha~ted. w~th her that he drank far more wine th an he had drunk on any other day III his hfe . It grew late and his staff hurried away . Bagoas closed the tent from the I outside having shown out those who still lin gered in his lord's presence. 2 T hey went to the ir beds weari ed with all their drinking, -and Judith was left J.4 alon e in the tent with H olofernes who had colla psed wine-sodden .on his bed . Judith then told her maid to sta y jus t outside the bedroom and walt for her to come out as she did every morning. She had let it be understood she would be . going out to her prayers and had also spoken of her int.entio~ to Bagoas. 4 By now everyo ne ha d left Holofernes and no one, either Im po~ta n t or umrn6 port an t, was left in the bedroom. Standing beside the bed , Judith murmured to herself : 18

11:5 +

9: 13

9:13

10:5 Es t4 : 17x D n 1:8

me to do things with you at which th e worl d will be astonished when it hear s. Your servant is a devout woman; she honours the God of heave n day and night. i; J the refore propose, my lord , to stay with yo u. 1, yo ur serva nt, will go out 15 every night into the valley and pray to G od to let me know when they have committ ed their sin . • I will then come and tell you, so that you can march o ut I H with your who le army ; and no ne of t hem will be able to resist yo u.• I will 19 be your guide right across Judaea until yo u reach Jerusalem ; there I will enthrone yo u in the very middle of the city. Then you shall lead them like sheep and never a dog dare o pen its mouth to bark at yo u. Foreknowledge tells me this; th is 16 has been fo retold to me an d I have been sent to reveal it to you.' 17 He r words pleased Holofernes and all his adjuta nts. Full of admi ratio n at 7~ her wisdo m they exclaimed, ·'There is no wo man like her from on e end of t he 7b earth to the other, so lovely of face a nd so wise of speech!' • Holofernes said, 37> 'God has done well to send yo u ahe ad of yo ur people. Strengt h will be o urs, an d ruin theirs who have ins ulted my lord. -As fo r yo u, yo u ar e as bea utiful as 3J you are eloquent; if yo u do as you have pro mised, your god shall be my god, an d you yourself sha ll mak e your home in the pa lace of King Neb uchad nezza r an d be famo us throughou t t he wor ld.' With that he had her brought in to where his silver d inner service was 1 a lready laid , and had his ow n food served to her and his own wine poured out for her. • But Judith said , 'J would rat her not eat this, in case I incur some 2 fault. What I have broug ht will be enough for me.' · 'Suppose yo ur provis ions J run out,' H olofernes asked ' how could we get more of the same sort ? We have no one belonging to your race here.' ··Never fear, my lord,' J udith an swered 4 'the Lord will have used me to acco mp lish his plan, befo re yo ur serv ant has finished these prov isio ns.' •Then the adjuta nts of Ho lofernes took her to a tent 5 where she slep t till midni ght. A little before the morni ng watch she rose. -S he 6 had already sent this requ est to Holofernes, ' Let my lord kindly give o rde rs for your servan t to be allow ed to go ou t a nd pray', -and Holofernes had ordere d his gua rds not to preven t her . She stayed in the camp for three day s ; she went 7 o ut each night to t he valley of Bet hulia a nd was hed a t the sp ring where the picket had been posted. -As she cam e up again she prayed to the Lor d God of x Israel to guide her in her plan to relieve the children of her peo ple. • Having 9 purified herself, she would return and stay in her tent until her meal was bro ught her in the evening.

12

Judith at the banquet of H olofernes On the fourth day Holo fernes gave a ba nquet, inviting only his own sta n' 10 a nd none of the other officers. • He said to Bagoas, the eunuch in charge of his II persona l affairs, 'G o and persuade that Hebrew woman yo u are look ing after to com e and join us a nd eat and d rink in o ur co mpany. • We shall be disgraced if we let a woman like th is go witho ut knowing her better. a If we do not sed uce her , everyone will laugh at us!' • Bagoas then left Holofernes and went to see i~ Ju dith". ' Wo uld th is young and lovely woma n co ndescend to com e to my lord ?' he asked . 'She shall occupy the seat of hon our o pposite him, drink the jo yful wine with us and be treated today like one of the Assy rian ladie s-in-waiting in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar. •'Who am I' Jud ith repl ied ' to resist my lord? i ~ J will not hesitate to do whatever he wishes, and doing this will be my joy to my 14 dying day .' A t this she rose and put on her dress and all her feminine adornments. Her 15 ma id preceded her, and on the floor in fro nt of Holofernes spread the fleece whic h Bagoas had given Jud ith for her daily use to lie on as she ate. " Ju dith en tered and too k her place . The hear t of Holofern es was ra vished at 16 th e sight; his very so ul was stirred. He was seized with a violent desire to sleep with her ; and indeed since the first da y he saw her , he had been waiting for an o pportunity to seduce her. .' Drink, drink !' Holofernes said 'Enjoy yoursel f 17

n

19

13

'Lord God, to whom all strength belongs, prosper what my hands are now to do for the greater glory of Jerusalem, now is the time to recover your heritage and further my designs to crush t he enemies arrayed aga inst us' .

~ With th at she went up to th e bedpost by Holofernes' head a.nd took .do;vn his ~ scimitar ; -coming closer to the bed shecaught him by the hair an d said,. Make 8 me strong tod ay, Lo rd G od of Israel!' -Twice she struc k at the n.ape of his neck 1~ with all her strength and cut off his head. •She then rolled his body off the 11 bed and tore the canopy down from the bedposts. Soon after, she went out 10 and gave the head of Holofernes to her attendant -who put it in her food bag. 12 The two then left the camp together, as they always did when they went to pray. Once they were out of the camp, they skirted the rav ine, climbed the slope to Bethulia and made for the gates .

Jg 4: 21

Judith brings the head of Holofernes to Bethulia F rom a distance Judith shouted to the guards on th e gates, 'Open th e gat e! Ex 15:1-2 13 Open! For the Lord our God is with us still, di splaying his .strength i~ Israel Ps4 8:711 : 6~: i~ and his might against our ene mies, as he has to day!' -Hearing her VOIce, the 98: I·J townsmen hurried do wn to th e town gate an d sum mo ned the elders.• Everyone, / 6 great and small , came running down, since her arri val was unexpected. The y threw the gat e ope n, welcom ed the women, lit a fire to see by and ~row~ed 14 round them.• The n Judith raised her voice an d said, 'Praise God ! Pr aise him ! 17.18 Praise the God who has not withd raw n his mercy from the House of Israel, 14:18 i~ bu t has shattered ou r enemies by my hand tonight!' -She pulled the hea d out of the bag and held it for them to see. 'This is th e head of Holofernes, generalin-chief of the Assyrian arm y ; here is the canopy under which he lay d runk! ~ T he Lord has struck him down by the hand of a woman! .Glo~y to the Lor~ who has protected me in the course I took! My face seduced him , only to his own undoing; he committed no sin with me to shame ~e or disgrace me .' ". g Overco me with emot ion, the people all fell on th eir knees and worshlp~ed God, exclaiming as one man, 'Blessings on you, 0 ou r God, for co nfounding 1~ your people's enemies today!' •Uzziah then said to Judith: b 11

n

12 a. Li t. ' with out en ioying her company' , euphe- on my W81o' [to Ho lofernes l . du ri ng my sta y and on my return . T he Lord has n o t allowed hi s hand ma id mism . cr. Dn 13:54.58. b . As in Esther. th e fate of Is rael is to be settled to be defiled. but has brought m e back to yo u uns ta ined by s in . reioicing at h is victory, at my esc ape, ,a nd at in the course of a banquet. yo ur delive ra nce . 21 Gl orify hi m . all of you, since he is good . since his mer cy is everl asting: cr. Ps 136: I. b. Vu lg. text is differen t bu t de velops the same 13 a . Corresponding to v, 16 are Vu lg . vv . 20-21 : '20 Long live the L ord! for his angel has guarded me themes.

13 : 19 J.5:24 » Lk 1:28. 42

J UDITH

63 6

'M ay you be blessed , my daug hter, by God Mos t High , beyond all women on eart h; and may the Lord God be blessed, the Creator of heave n and earth, by whose guidance you cut off the head of the leader of our enemies. The trus t you have shown shall not pass from the memor ies of men, but shall ever remind them of the power of God. Go d grant you to be a lways held in honour, and rewarded with blessings, since you did not consider your own life when our nation was brought to its knees, but war ded off our ru in, walki ng unde terred befor e our Go d.' All the people answered, 'Amen ! Amen!'

12

24

l~ 16 19 25

20

n l~

n 18 I

3

26

4

5

The J ews attack the Assyrian camp I

2

his arm s and every ab le-bod ied man leave the town. A ppoi nt a leade r for these, as if you meant to march down to the plain against the Assyrian ad vance post. But you must not do this. -Th e Assyrians will gat her up their equipment, make 3 for the ir camp and wake up their comma nders; they in turn will rush to the 4 tent of Ho lofernes and not be ab le to find him. They will then be seized wit h panic and flee at your advance. -A ll you an d the ot hers who live in the terri tor y j of Israel will have to do is to give chase and slaughter them as they retreat. 'B ut before you do t his, call me Achior the Ammonite" for him to see the 5 man who thought so meanly of the House of Israel and recognise this as the ma n who sent him to us as a man already do omed to die.' ( / 3) So they had Achior ~7.28 bro ught from the house of Uzziah . No sooner had he arrived and seen the 29 head of Holofernes held by a member of the people's assembl y than he fell dow n on his face in a faint. -They lifted him up . He then threw himself at the }() feet of Ju dith, and prostrate before her exclaimed: 'May you be blessed in all the tents of J uda h and in every nation ; at the sou nd of your name men will be seized with dread.

D ' 23:4-5

to his major-domo 'these slaves> have da red to march down on us to attack.. «u to be wiped ou t to a man !' - Bagoas went inside and clapped his han ds in -::;; fron t of the curtain dividing the tent, thinki ng th at Holofernes was sleeping with J udith . - But as no one seemed to hear, he drew the cur ta in and went into the bedroom, to find him th rown down dead on the thre shold an d the head gone from his body. - He gave a great shout, wept, sobbed, shr ieked and rent his clothes. -H e then went into the tent which Judith had occupied and could not find her eithe r. Then, rushing out to the men , he shou ted, -'Those slaves have duped us! One Hebrew woman has bro ught shame ,on the House of 13:15: 16:5-9 Nebuchadnezzar. Holofernes is lying dead on the ground, with his head cut off!' 3.9:54 When they hea rd t his, the leaders of the Assyri an army tore their tunics in consternation, and the camp ran g with their wild cries and their shou ting. When the men who were still in their tents hear d the news they were appalled. -They were so gripped with panic and dr ead that no two men could keep toge ther: the ro ut was complete. They fled along every track across the plain or through the mo untains. -T he men who had been bivouacking in the mountains round Bethuli a were fleeing too. Then all the Israelite warr iors charged down on the m. -Uzz iah sent messenger s to Betomasthaim, Bebai, Choba, Kola an d through all the highla nds of Israel, to inform them of what had happened an d to urge them all to hu rl the mselves on the enemy an d annihilate them. -As soon as the Israelites heard the news, they fell on the m as one man and massac red them all the way to C hoba. The men of Je rusalem and the ent ire mountain country" also rallied to them, once they had been inform ed of the events in the enemy camp. Then the men of Gilead and G alilee attacked them on the flank and struck at them fiercely till they near ed Dam ascus and its territory. -The rest, who had stayed in Bethulia, fell up on the Assyrian cam p and looted it to the ir great profit. -The Israelites returning from the slaughter Est 9:5.16 seized what was left. T he hamlets and villages of the mo unt ain country an d the Est 9:10 plain also cap tured a great deal of booty, since the re were vast stores of it.

11 and

V, TR I UMPH

th said, 'Listen to me, bro thers . Take this head and hang it on yo ur 14 Jubattdilements. -When morn ing comes a nd the sun is up, let every man take

JUDITH

63 7

31

'Now tell me exactly what you have been doing in these past few days .' And 8 su rro unded by all the people Judith to ld him everything she had done from the day she left Bethulia to the moment when she was speaking. -When she ca me 9 to the end, the peo ple chee red at t he tops of their voices until the town echoed . (/4) -Ac hior , recognis ing the mighty works of the God of Israel, believed JO a rdently in him and, accepting circumcision, was incorporated in the House of Israel forever . At daybreak they hun g the head of Holofernes on the ramparts. Every man ~ I took his arms and they all went out in groups to the slopes of the mountain. Seeing this, the Assyrians sent word to their leaders, who in turn reponed to f the generals, the captains of thousands and all the other officers; _and these 13 . hei 9.11 In t err turn reported to the tent of Holofernes. 'Rouse our master,' they said

~ ~

~

Ib

15

Israel gives tha nks Joakim the high priest an d the Council of Elders of Israel, who were in Jerusalem, came to gaze on the benefits that the Lord had lavishe d on Israel and to see Judith and congratulate her. -On coming to her house they blessed her with one accord, saying: 'You are the glory of Jerusalem ! You are the great pride of Israel! Yo u are the highest honour of our race!

10 II

'By doing all this with your own ha nd you have deserved well of Israel, and God has approved what you have do ne.

Es t 9:10

'May you be blessed by the Lord Almight y in all the day s to come !' b 12 II 1J.14

n

All the peopl e an swered, ' Amen !' The people loot ed the camp for thirty days . They gave Judith the tent of Holofern es, all his silver plat e, his divans, his drinking bowls and all his furnitu re. She took this , load ed her mule, harnesse d her carts and heaped the t hing s into them. -A ll the women of Israel, hurrying to see her, formed choirs of da ncers in her honour. Judith distributed branches to the women who accompanied her ;

E x 15:20 J. 11:34

1 S 18:6

Jr 31:4.

13

14 a. VuIK. put s Achior 's entra nce before 14:1. 15 a . The hill co untry of Ju dah . disco urs e on the presumption of Holofern es.

b. In plac e of v , 10. VuIK. (v. 11) reads 'since you ha ve behaved like a m an . yo ur heart was s tre ngt hened .

b. v ute. 'The mice ha ve com e out of their ho les a nd dared to cha llenge us to fight' .

becau se you loved chastity and hav e know n no ot her man since your husband . Hence the hand of the Lord gave you strength. So you will be blessed for ever .'

at the en d o f ch . 13. and makes Judith delive r a sho r t

15: 13

II

JUDITH

639

638

she and her companions put on wreaths of olive . Th en she took her place at 13 the head of the procession and led the women as they danced. All the men of Israel, armed and garlanded, followed them, singing hymns. •With all Israel )4 round her, Judith broke into this song of thanksgiving and the whole people sa ng this hymn aloud: ' P s81 :1- 3; 135:1·3 : 149:1- 3

9: 7 Ex 15:3 P s 46:9 Ps 68:30 : 76:3

14:18

9: 13

9:13

5:23 6:5

Ps 144:9 Ps 86: 10: 147:5 Es<4: 17b Ps 33:9 ; 14 8:5 Ps 104:30 ES14:17b

Jg 5:5 Ps 97;5

16

'Praises my God with the t-unbourine, sing to the Lord with the cymbal, let psalm and canticle mingle for him , extol his name, invoke it! For the Lord is a God who shatters war; he has pitched b his camp in the middle of his people to deliver me from the hands of my enemies. 'Assyria came down from the mountains of the north came with tens of thousands of his army. ' Their multitude blocked the wadis, their horses covered the hills. He promised to burn up my country, destroy my young men with the sword, dash my sucklings to the ground, make prey of my little ones, carry off my maidens; but the Lord Almighty has thwarted them by a woman's hand. For their hero did not fall at the young men 's hands it was not sons of Titans who struck him down ' no pr oud giants mad e that attack, ' but J Udith, the da ughter of Mera ri, who disar med him wit h the bea uty of her face. She laid aside her widow's dress to rally those who were oppressed in Israel; she anointed her face with perfu me, bound her hai r under a tur ba n, put on a linen gown to sed uce him. H er sandal ravished his eye, her beauty took his soul prisoner ... and the scimitar cut through his neck!

16

I 2

2 3 4

17 10

1/

g

r;

16:25

shou ld rocks melt like wax before your face, to those who fear you, you would still be merciful.

Ps25:14: 103:13

'A little thing indeed is a sweetly smelling sacrifice, st ill less the fat burned for yo u in holocau st ; but whoever fears the Lo rd is great for ever.

Ps51:16 +

'Woe to the nations who rise aga inst my race! The Lord Almighty will punish them on j udgement day . He will send fire and worms in their flesh and they shall weep with pain for ever more .'

J g 5:31

8 i3 4:1 3-17

J14: 1-4

Si 7: 17 Js 66:24

When the y reached Jerusalem they fell on their faces before God and, once the people were purified , the y offered their holocausts and voluntary offerings and gifts . • AII Holofernes' property given her by the people and th e canopy she

herself had stripped from his bed, Judith vowed to God as a dedicated offering. }~

For t hree months the people gave t hemselves up to rejoicings in Je r usa lem before

Lv 27:28-29 N h ] I:4R-54 Dt 13: 13- 19 Jos6:1 7 ,

the Temple, where Judith stayed with them. 6 8

Judith lives to old age. He r death When this was over , everyo ne returned ho me. Judith went bac k to Bethu lia " a nd lived on her estate ; as lon g as she lived, she enjoyed a great reputation iii th roughout the coun try. -S he had man y suito rs, bu t all her da ys, fro m the time her husban d Ma nasseh died and was gat hered to his peop le, she never gave 23 herself to a nother man . • Her fame spread mo re and mo re th e older she grew 18 in her husband's ho use; she lived to the age of a hundred a nd five yea rs.' She eman cipated her maid, then died in Beth ulia and was buri ed in t he cave where ~~ Ma nasseh her husband lay. •T he Ho use of Israel mo urned her for seve n days . Before her death she had distr ibut ed her pro perty among her own relati ons an d those of her husband Ma nasseh. 25 Never again during the lifetime of Jud ith , nor indeed for long a fter her death, /1/ did anyone trouble th e so ns of Israel ."

21

25

10 8 9 JJ

'The Persians trembled at her boldness the Medes were daunted by her daring: These were struck with fear when my lowly ones shouted these were seized with terror when my weak ones shouted lou der and when they shouted loudest, these gave ground. ' T.he children of mere girls ra n them through, pierced them like the offspring of deserters. They perished in the battle of my Lord!

10 12

'I will sing a new song to my God. Lord, you are great, you are glorious, wonderfully strong, unconquerable. May your whole creation serve you! For you spoke and things came into being, you sent your breath and they were put together, and no one can resist your voice.

13 15 16

'Should mountains topple to mingle with the waves,

19

JUDITH

11

13

12

14

f.I

17

c. The poem is in (he form of a hymn an d in vv , 1316 uses phrases fo und frequ ent ly in Ps. 16 a. ' Pra ise ' corr. b. 'he ha s p itched ' ve rsio ns. 15 18 c. This great age finally assimilat es Judith to the

her oe s of the patriarchal ag e . d . Thi s end ing reca lls those in Jg , Vu lg, adds rv. J f) 'T he a n uive rsa r v o f thi s vic tory is cele bra ted by the He brews a nd ra nks as one of th e ho ly da ys. The Je ws ha ve o bser ved it fro m tha t time until the p resent da y: We d o not in fact find any trace o f thi s feas t. But cf. ESI 9:27f: I M 7:48 ·49.

G 02 3:19 : 49 :29-32

J g3:l l .30 : 5: 31 ;R:2R